PU surgery and post-op care

[sek4278]

Hi all,

My first post -- I have a two year old male rescue who blocked multiple times over the weekend, and he had PU surgery yesterday. The blockages resulted in 3 emergency trips to the vet and immense stress, taking him home and having him reblock and become very sick 3x. Now, after the surgery, we are looking at whether we should bring him home or do medical boarding, at least for the first week, so that the vet staff can monitor and care for him. I feel guilty, and it is expensive, but I work full time and my husband can use bad judgement in cat care. I'm afraid he will cave and remove the e-collar or miss concerning symptoms. It sounds like the post-op care can be really stressful. Thoughts?

I have read several threads on the post-op care and it is alarming. Two weeks feels like a lifetime.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. That is hard to answer because stress is also bad for cats and the stress of being in the hospital might not be good for him. To me, a deciding factor would be, if there is anyone in the hospital overnight. I would not leave him unsupervised overnight.

 

[fionasmom]

A number of members here have had PU surgery for their cats and, as you would expect with any procedure, some healed easily and some had difficulty. One of my boys is a candidate for it.

I agree that if this is not a 24/7 hospital with real vet techs and vets on staff during that time, then leaving him is not a good idea. I would not even be thrilled with a night caretaker who would not be able to provide medical care. If no one is there, it would be out of the question entirely.

If you do have to bring him home, your husband will have to follow whatever instructions are given. A week is a long time to board and is stressful for any cat, but it may not be uncalled for in the light of the complications that you have already had.

How far do you have to drive to get back to the vet if you need to? Can you work out a system whereby your husband checks in with you at work and updates you?